Manufacture of articles embodying fibrous filaments and vulcanizable plastics.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND IB. PRICE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO RUBBER REGENERATINGCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES EMBODYIN G FIBROUS FIIIAMENTS AND VULCANIZAIBLEPatented Jan. 2, 1917.

PLASTICS.

1,211,228. Specification of Letters Patent.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND B. PRICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture ofArticles Embodying Fibrous Filaments and Vulcanizable Plastics, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the manufacture of articles embodying fibrousfilaments and vulcanizable plastics and has for an object to provide aprocess whereby a predetermined initial relationship given the plasticand each filament will be maintained during subsequent manipulation ofthe materials and will be fixed in the product. In the manufacture ofarticles of this class, it is highly desirable that each fibrousfilament or strain resisting element, and the plastic or cushionelement, be initially assembled in definite relationship, and that thisrelationship be maintained and fixed in the product. This initialrelationship is preferably such that the fibrous filament is inclosed bythe plastic, and in the product each fibrous filament should beseparated throughout from its neighbor by. an adequately interveninglayer of plastic. This desired initial relationship can be intentionallyproduced at the initial application of the plastic to each fibrousfilament, but distortion from this relationship occurs at everysubsequent manipulation of the plastic treated filament under conditionsinherently productive of relatively displacing the filament and plastic.For example, when fibrous filaments, initially assembled withvulcanizable plastic in' a predetermined relationship, are twistedtogether to form a filamentary article of larger dimension, and thearticle subsequently vulcanized, the plastic on adjacent fibroussurfaces is found at places to be displaced leaving said surfacescontacting. This is due partly to the squeezing pressure of the twistingmanipulation, and partly to the shrinkage and the tendency of thefilaments to untwist, particularly under the vulcanizin heat. Again, inthe manufacture of S110 articles as tires, of either the fabric or cordtype, the tire is built to embody plies of fibrous filaments, assembledwith vulcanizable plastic in a predetermined relationship,

Application filed December 1, 1915. Serial No. 64,525.

and either woven into fabric, or not. Final formation is usually givento the tire by vulcamzmg the same under squeezing pressure.

In the finished article the plastic and fibrous thereof because theplastic under heat flows and allows the fibrous filaments to escape fromplace, which condition is enhanced by the squeezing pressure of thewrappings, or I mold. In all instances, as a result of this distortionof the plastic and fibrous filaments, the life of the article isshortened because wherever fibrous surfaces are exposed and contact, orare not protected by an adequately intervening layer of plastic, theyrub upon each other during flexing of the article in service withresultant friction and heating whereby the fibrous filaments are reducedto powder thereby producing breaks and punctures.

The present invention obviates such distortion of the plastic and eachfibrous filament from their initial predetermined relationship.

To obtain this result the invention resides in first assembling eachfibrous filament with vulcanizable plastic in a predeterminedrelationship, to produce the material from which a subsequent article isto be built, and then fixing said relationship of the filament andplastic by converting the plastic into partially vulcanized plastichaving such consistency as to resist displacement and hold the filamentin place during any subsequent manipulations of the plastic treated beperformed by coating, calende'ring, em-- bedding, solutioning, or by anyother usual or preferred operation. I then fix said relationship bysubjecting the product to a preliminary partial vulcanization which maybe effected by steam, open heat, inert or active gas, liquid or otherusual or preferred heat medium. The heat medium is raised to thevulcanizing temperature and applied to the product for a sufiicientperiod to effect the desired degree of partial vulcanization. Partialvulcanization-may also be elfected by treating the product with sulfurchlorid. This partial vulcanization is performed in the absence of anycondition that would tend to materially distort the plastic and filamentfrom their predetermined initial relationship, and as a result theplastic and filament become set or fixed in said relationship. Afterthis preliminary partial vulcanization, the product is built into thedesired article, by twisting, Weaving, braiding, knitting, laying undertension upon a form or other manipulation. Subsequently the article isgiven final formation by vulcanization with or without squeezingpressure.

Articles constructed in the above described manner to embody fibrousfilaments each assembled with vulcanizable plastic in a predeterminedrelationship, and fixed in said relationship by partial vulcanizationprior to building up and final vulcanization of the article, haveenhanced strength over articles not so constructed, by virtue of thefibrous filaments and plastic of the finished article retaining theirinitial predetermined relationship, which is such that each fibrousfilament is with certainty separated from its neighbor by an adequatelyintervening layer of plastic. Furthermore such articles may be subjectedto higher compacting or squeezing pressure than ordinarily during finalvulcanization, since the fibrous filaments are protected by thepartially vulcanized plastic which during the preliminary partialvulcanization takes such consistency as to resist distortion. Sucharticles will be more uniformly compact, integral, and unitarythroughout than ordinarily since that part of the squeezing pressure ofthe final cure or incident to manipulating the material and hithertoexpended deleteriously in displacing the mobile plastic, is nowadvantageously utilized in further compacting the resilient cushion ofpartially vulcanized plastic.

When in the following claims 1 use the term filament, I mean the same tomean the unit fiber, strand, thread, cord, or'cable,

which enters into the construction of an article. And whenI :use theterm vulcanizable plastic, 1 mean"the same to include not only rubberand allied. gums but also gutta-percha and balata, fwhi'ch although notactually vulcanizable are capable of a setting. 7 a

Having thus described my invention, what I now claim as new and i'desireto protect by Letters Patent is: r v, c

1. The process o f manufacturing articles embodying fibrous'fil'amentsand vulcanizable plastic, consisting of inclosing each filament withvulcanizable plastic, fixing the relationship of the plastic andfilament by partially vulcanizing the plastic in the ab sence ofmaterially distorting conditions, building the article to include thispartially vulcanized material, and giving final formation to the articleby completing the desired vulcanization of the plastic.

2. The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filaments andvulcanizable plastic, consisting of inclosing each filament withvulcanizable plastic, fixing the relationship of the plastic andfilament by subjecting the product to heat at the vulcanizingtemperature under conditions which will not materially distort thepredetermined relationship of the plastic and filaments to each otheruntil the plastic is partially vulcanized, building the article toinclude this partially vulcanized material, and giving final formationto the built article by completing the desired vulcanization of theplastic.

3. The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filaments andvulcanizable plastic, consisting of inclosing each filament withvulcanizable plastic, fixing the relationship of the plastic andfilament by partially vulcanizing the plastic in the absence ofmaterially distorting pressure, building the article to include thispartially vulcanized material, and giving final formation to the builtarticle by completing the desired vulcanization of the plastic undersqueezing pressure.

4. The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filaments andvulcanizable plastic consisting of inclosing each filament withvulcanizable plastic, fixing the relationship of the plastic andfilament by subjecting the product to the action of heat raised to thevulcanizing temperature under conditions which will not materiallydistort the predetermined relationship of the plastic and filament toeach other until the plastic is partially vulcanized, building thearticle to include this partially vulcanized material, and giving finalformation to the article by completing the desired vulcanization of theplastic'under squeezing pressure.

5. The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filaments andrubber consisting of inclosing each filament with raw rubber, fixing therelationship of the rubber and filament by partially vulcanizing therubber in the absence of materially distorting conditions, building thearticle of this partially vulcanized material, and giving finalformation to the built article by completing the desired vulcanizationof the rubber.

-6.- The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filamentsand rubber, consisting of inclosing each filament with raw rubber,fixing the relationship of the rubber and filament by subjecting theproduct to the action of heat, raised to the vulcanizing temperatureunder conditions which will not materially distort the predeterminedrelationship of the rubber and filament to each other until the rubberis partiall vulcanized, building the article to inc ude this.

- desired vulcanization of the rubber under artially vulcanizedmaterial, and giving al formation to the built article by completing thedesired vulcanization of the rubber. Y

7. The process of manufacturing articles embodying fibrous filaments andrubber, consisting of inclosing each filament with raw rubber in theabsence of distorting pressure, building the article to include thispartially vulcanized material, and 'ving final formation to the builtarticle y completing the squeezing pressure.

Signed at New York, N. Y., November RAYMOND B. PRICE.

